Boyhood (2014)

Boyhood is a film that was 12 years in the making, but after all that time was it worth the effort.

I would definitely say yes!

Richard Linklater is a director that is not afraid to experiment with cinema, from exploring philosophy through dreams in “Waking Life (2001)” or growth of characters as they age in reality as well as on screen “Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), Before Midnight (2013)”. He now revisits the same concept as the before trilogy however attempting to show the experience of a characters whole life the actor and his character grow up.

Boyhood Follows Manson (Ellar Coltrane) through his life from age 5 to 18. The plot is as simple as that, and I love this film for keeping things this simple.
The film doesn’t feel like a typically structured narrative, it feels more like an experience instead of seeing a smaller focused story like a typical film.
It feels more organic like you’re seeing inside Manson’s head as he recounts the memories that stick out to him in his head.
For me I found the film extremely relatable as I grew up in the same time period as Manson, the things that were chosen to sum up the time period such as music, things they discuss and the technology were really struck a chord me as I remember listening to the same thing or discussing the same thing even playing the same thing.
However I’m sure it wouldn’t have nearly as much meaning to some who didn’t grow up in that time period.

Overall there is no real over arching plot or typical 3 act structure in a typical sense what you get is snapshots of Manson’s life and his friends and family growing with him as the world around them changes also.
It’s a film that I would Compare to Terrance Mallik’s “The tree of life (2011)” however not as visually abstract.
I would highly recommend seeing this film if you haven’t already I think it’s a very important experiment in cinema and an experience that made me think about the experiences of life.